'US is working with India to promote democracy'

Expressing concern over the situations in Tibet and Myanmar, President George W Bush has said that the United States is working with India to promote democracy and the peace throughout the Asia.

"We're working with India to promote democracy and the peace it yields throughout the continent. We're working together to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia," Bush told a gathering that included prominent Indian Americans here on the occasion of the Asian American Heritage month.

"I know you share my concerns about the situation in Tibet. I welcome the recent statements by the Chinese government expressing its willingness to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama -- precisely what I have suggested President Hu Jintao do. I think it's important that there be a renewed dialogue and that dialogue must be substantive so we can address the real way," Bush said.

"In Burma, the brutal military regime continues to reject the clear will of the Burmese people to live under leaders of their own choosing. So over the past eight months, my administration has tightened sanctions on the regime. We've imposed visa bans on the junta's generals and their families and their cronies, trying to send a clear message -- and we hope the rest of the world follows as well," he said.

"Today, I've issued a new executive order that instructs the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of Burmese state-owned companies that are major sources of funds that prop up the junta. I'm sending yet another clear message, that we expect there to be change and we expect these generals to honour the will of the people," the president said.

In his opening remarks Bush recalled the contributions of the Asian Americans stressing the vibrancy the community had brought in.